‘Closest Thing I Ever Saw to Beatlemania’ – ‘Superbrat’ John McEnroe Discloses His Biggest Rival’s Crazy Popularity Amongst Young Women

John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg had some historic clashes which stand unrivaled to date. However, apart from many on-court stories, they have some cherished off-court memories as well. The seven-time Grand Slam champion McEnroe recently shared one of them.

McEnroe, while speaking about the sudden increase in the following of tennis, detailed how women were going gaga over Borg. Here’s what he believed Borg had become at that time.

John McEnroe about Borg’s fan following

While speaking on a podcast, the former World No.1 detailed how witnessing a group of young women welcome the Swedish ace on-court made him want to turn professional. “Bjorn was in Wimbledon and that time I was in a junior event somewhere watching him. He walked out of the locker room and saw hundreds of girls! Literally, it was the closest thing I ever saw to Beatlemania like on a tennis court,” he said. ‘Beatlemania’ refers to the fanaticism that surrounded the renowned English rock band, The Beatles, in the 1960s.

Thereafter, he added, “Never happened before, never happened since to any single tennis player. And I remember thinking to myself I was probably 13. I go, I wanna be a professional tennis player.” Even though McEnroe and Borg’s careers spanned in different timelines, they clashed on tours for a few years and those years were magnificent.

In fact, one of their matches received a movie adaptation. The movie Borg vs. McEnroe was based on the events that happened before and after the 1980 Wimbledon Championships singles finals. It was released in the year 2017.

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The tussle lasted for over three hours. At one side of the court was Borg, who was fighting for his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title and on the opposite side, there was this American youngster who had nothing to lose. Borg, in the end, managed to get the better of McEnroe after a nail-biting 1–6 7–5 6–3, 6–7(16–18) 8–6 battle.

McEnroe vs. Borg – an iconic rivalry

McEnroe locked horns with the 11-time Grand slam champion 14 times in his career. Although the head-to-head started and ended with McEnroe’s name on the winner’s column, Borg kept challenging the American star throughout their rivalry.

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When Borg ended his illustrious career, their head-to-head record stood at an even 7 wins each. Their rivalry is still alive. However, it has evolved over the years. Now they battle from the dugout as captains of Team Europe and Team World in the Laver Cup.